From his antecedents, we did not need to read the tea leaves to know that President Donald Trump of America would give Africa the short shrift in his dealings with the continent.
If we needed any clues to this, we need not look further than how he regards African Americans who are as American as apple pie. If he treats people whose forebears have been part of American history from its inception with such undisguised condescension as we have seen from his remarks and policies, then we should expect worse from him regarding how he relates to African countries to who he owes no constitutional and legal obligations. In any case, in his first coming as president, he had with unflattering candour, described African countries as “shitholes” which went to show how much he “loves” Africans.
So if Trump takes a decision to fold up USAID, which is the main US government agency for channelling American assistance to Africa and other parts of the world, with the full knowledge the continent will be greatly affected by it, then we should not be surprised. And now that Trump had cut off all aid to South Africa following the South African government’s decision to implement the demand by its voters to commence redistribution of land, which he interprets as a measure directed at white South Africans, we need not be told that in the new world order under President Trump, Africans count for nothing.
It should also be instructive to us Africans that in Europe, too, just as in America, the rising resentment against immigrants, especially Africans, is getting to an intolerable level with racist right-wing anti-immigrant political parties now on the upsurge.
It should also come home to us that as America and China square up in the coming economic and strategic confrontation between them, Africa will constitute the playground as source for cheap raw materials and primary products. Indeed, it has long been happening but as a mineral and produce-hungry China, in its quest to extend the frontiers of its huge economy, gravitates inexorably to Africa, the continent will witness increased effects of this conflict of interests.
All this points to the fact Africa may suffer the possibility of being trampled underfoot in the coming years, this time without redemption.
Although this scenario may look grim and unforgiving, there is always as they say a silver lining in every cloud. The loss of aid from Trump’s America is certainly a huge loss as it will affect millions of lives and livelihoods across the continent.
Similarly, the competition for resources and spheres of influence between America and China will also witness the rise in wars, insurgencies and insurrections resulting in yet more deaths and humanitarian crises.
But Africans must resist the temptation to lapse into lamentation. It behoves our thinkers, visionaries, and leaders to look at the opportunities that this seeming fog of uncertainty presents and turn things around. Yes, we may be underdeveloped and the laggards of the world, but we are not totally bereft of ideas and abilities to meet the challenges.
In this regard, of all the things that we need to do, we should not fall yakataaa like rain-beaten chickens and await our fate like helpless orphans. We should take the challenges as a wake-up call to rejig a lot of things that we presently do in Africa which puts us at a disadvantage in global political, economic and strategic affairs.
First of all, we must understand that what Trump is doing in America and the world amounts to a repudiation of America’s commitment to the world order that it has led since 1945. That means all the economic and political guardrails through which America had exercised control and dominance of world politics and economics are now being undermined by America itself. And while it may look like a projection of strength, it actually indicates that America is mortally afraid that it is fast losing its global competitive edge and advantage to the likes of China.
So, all that gra gra that President Trump is “forming” is actually what we call ogboju in popular Nigerian parlance. If America was sure of its economic strength as it was before, it would not need to seek to protect its economy behind tariff walls as Trump is doing now. What this goes to show is a manifestation of the popular Nigerian saying, ‘Breeze blow and we don see fowl nyansh”.
It is a very serious economic and political crises America is facing and Trump is trying to drag the world economy, which America still controls to some extent, down with it. That is why countries that have seen this economically suicidal bent of America are devising ways to jump ship before it eventually sinks. The simple truth in all this is that America is gradually losing its justification for controlling and dominating global economic and political trends.
What this means is that if we as Africans decide to renegotiate the terms of engagement with such institutions as the IMF and World Bank, we will be justified because the principal country is itself repudiating its terms of global economic engagements forced by objective developments in the global economic environment.
Africa must respond to these global seismic economic shifts by shaking out of its lethargic thinking and posture in global affairs. As the world is changing, we must also reset and realign our thinking in tandem with developments. We must also feel free to set our economic priorities in our own interests. That means we must establish institutions that set just prices for our resources and extract the best possible concessions in our economic engagements.
This calls for the leading countries in Africa, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal to proceed to set up institutions for regional economic relations within the continent and against foreign economic interests. That means we must remove barriers to enable us to relate and trade more with ourselves.
We really have no alternative to setting up our own economic infrastructure if we hope to survive the coming global economic storm. The economic system that subjugated Africa was established when we were ignorant and helpless to influence its effect on us. But in the current dispensation, where knowledge about global developments and their potential or actual impacts can be instantaneously available and analysed, Africans can only blame themselves if they do not sift the opportunities that come along.
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President Tinubu, it is time to appoint envoys
With momentous global developments unfolding, there can be no further excuses for the Tinubu administration not to appoint envoys to our various missions. Since the rather abrupt recall of our envoys over a year ago, our embassies and diplomatic representations have been without full diplomatic representation thus making it difficult for Nigeria to pursue its regional and global political and economic objectives.
This is a serious minus in the global arena for a leading country like Nigeria which hopes to pursue economic and political objectives.
Nigerians are not convinced by the explanation given by the Hon. Minister of External Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, that the missions have not missed a beat as the officers in the missions are functioning well and smoothly. Nigerians regard this as a diplomatic contrivance as the ambassador himself knows that a mission cannot be said to be functioning smoothly without the presence of an ambassador or high commissioner as the case may.
Whatever it is that is hampering, the appointment of envoys must be resolved immediately. And while at it, we must send competent hands and ensure that the missions are well-funded to run effectively and accountably.
Read the original article on Daily Trust.
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